Thought of the Day Redux

Thought for the day. Something I wrote once and based on the second of the Two Great Commandments:

Accept the preferences of others, and acknowledge they have the same rights you enjoy, just as you choose to accept and enjoy your preferences, be what they may.

Love and accept others as you would have them love and accept you.

Accept them and love them as they are.

There is no other way.

Then, love or love not. It’s your choice.

But you can’t make the choice for other people. You can only have love for yourself and others. You can’t force others to love, you. anyone else, or anything. There can be no expectation on the part of others to love you or return it. You can only have it within yourself for yourself and others.

What most can’t accept, or even believe, is that you have to love and accept yourself before you can love and accept others. For how can you love others if you have no loving reference point for yourself?